Detonator.



. RUNGE.

DETONATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 30,1913.

l Patented June 6, 1916.

1/1 dll/f4. /I rl Ilfill/rifflll/11159111254 WALTER RUNGIE,` F CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 EQ I. nu IPQN'IA 'DE NEMOURS POWDER COMPANY, 0F WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION 0F NEW lIl Specioation of Letters Patent.

Application mea :rune se, 1913. serial No. 776,708.

To aZZ'wwm it may concern.' l

- 'Be it known that I, WALTER RUNGE, of Chester, in the county of Delaware, and 1n the State of Pennsylvania, have invented 5 a certain new` and useful Improvement in Detonators, and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descrip-l the use of fulminate of mercury or a mixture of fulminate of mercury and potassium chlorate. These were for sometlme the only detonators used for detonating dynamite and other high explosives. In recent years, however, they have beenreplaced to a certain extent by `detonators containing a main charge which cannot'be detonated by the flame from a fuse and a priming charge of an explosive whichlcan be detonated by a fuse. The explosion of the priming charge detonates the main charge so that the detonation vfrom the main charge causes the explosion of the main body of explosive. For the main charge explosives such as trinitrotoluene and picric acid have beenvused. For the priming charge the fulminate of mercury has been replaced to-some extent by lead azid. In detonators of this type in which there is a main charge and a priming charge it has hitherto been found necessary to cover the priming charge with a perforated capsule or thimble to increase the detonating power of the priming charge, owing to the confinement, and to prevent the loosening of the priming charge in the metal casing. v

I have discovered that4 where detonators containing lead azid are used it is not necessary to provide a confining capsule or thimble to increase the detonating. power of the priming charge. lI have' thus discovconfining capsule or thimble may be entirely omitted and that the 'primingy charge may be L eifectually retained in position 'by adding suitable binder. Such binder will not. only cause -theparticles of explosives in the prim-j ingcharge to adhere .or cohereto one ansecurely in place withinthe metal capsule.

ered that in detonators of this character the to the' explosives in the priming charge a D STATES A PATENT omen'. 'i

' Panama Jie'eQieie.

The amount of binder necessary does not diminish the detonating power ofthe primmg charge. While my invention is capable o fembodiment iny many diHerent forms, for the pur,- pos'e of illustration I may produce a detonator in .the following way; the accompanying drawing illustrating one form of my in- '4 vention, in which the figure is a vertical section of a detonator made in accordance with my invention. i

In the drawings, I have shown a, `metal casing 1 having a main charge 2 and a priming charge 3. l

The main-charge 2 may consist of 1 gram of trinitrotoluene. This may be pressed into the metal casing 1 of the detonator before the addition of the priming charge 3, or it may be pressed into the same simultaneously with the priming charge. On top of .the

main charge I place a priming charge consisting, for example, of 0.3 gram of a mixture of 80 parts of lead azid and-20 parts of trinitrotoluene to which has been added a small amount of a binder, such, Ifor example, as gum arabic. The proportions of lead azid, trinitrotoluene and gum arabic may,

however, vary, but I preferably use from 70 v to 95 parts of lead azid and from 5 to 30 parts of trinitrotoluene and from 0.02 to 0.4

parts of gum arabic. The caps consisting of the main charge and the priming char e are then pressed in any suitable way. f desired, they may bepressed simultaneously in one vpressing operation or they" may be pressedseparately. When pressed the detonating compositions will be eectively retained Within the metal casing. l The priming charge may be retained in place by the gum arabic. When 4so arranged it is not necessary to make use of avperforated capsule on .topl of vthe primingcharge as was previously found necessary. i

While I have described my invention A above in detail, I wish it to be understood that'vmany changes maybe made therein `,without departing from the spirit of my invention, and that the terms used therein shall be. interpreted in their broad significance. For example,- the word detonatorv is to be understood as including among other devices'dynamite caps which are to be ignited by a am'e from a fuse, as well as electric detonatorsin which the charge is ignited by an electric current.

I claim:

1. Al detonator comprising a casing, a main, charge of an explosive Which cannot be detonated directly by the llame from a fuse,

and a primingl charge containing a mixture of lead azid and an organic nitro compound, unobstructed at one end thereof.

2. A detonator comprising a casing, a main charge of .an explosive Which 'cannot be detonated directly by the iiame from a. fuse, and a priming charge containing lead azid,

, an organic nitro compound and a binding material, unobstructed at one end thereof.

3. A detonator comprising a casing, a main charge of an explosive Which cannot be detonated directly by the flame from a fuse, and a priming charge containing a mixture of lead azid and trinitrotoluol, unobstructed at one endthereof.

4. A detonator comprising a casing, a main charge of an explosive Which cannot be detonated directly bythe flame from ak fuse, and a priming charge containing lead azid, trinitrotoluol and a binding material,i

unobstructed .at one end thereof. l

5. A detonator comprising a casing, a main charge of an explosive Which cannot be detonated directly by the flame from a fuse, and a priming charge containing lead azid, trinitrotoluol, and gum arabic, unobstructed at one end thereof. v

6. A detonator comprising a casing a main charge of ancexplosive which cannot be detonated directly by the flame from a fuse, and .a

ipriming charge containing 70 to 95 parts o lead azid, 5 to 30 parts of trinitrotoluol, and .02 to .4 parts of gum arabic,v

unobstructed at one end thereof.

7. A detonator comprising a casing, a main charge of trinitrotoluol, and' a priming charge containing a mixture of lead azid and an organic nitro. compound, unobstructed at one end thereof.

V8. A detonator comprising a casing', a main charge of trinitrotoluol, and a priming charge containing lead azid, an organic nitro compound .anda binding material, unobstructed at one end thereof.

yat one end thereof.

11.` A detonator comprising a casing, a main charge of trinitrotoluol, and a priming charge containing lead azid, trinitrotoluol and vgum arabic, unobstructed at one end thereof.

l2. A detonator comprising a casing, a

main charge of trinitrotoluol, and a priming charge containing 70 to 95 parts of lead azid, 5 t9 30 parts of trinitrotoluol7 and .02 to .4 parts of gum arabic, unobstructed at one end thereof. c

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand.

WALTER RUNGE. Witnesses:

ANDREW A. CLARK, WM. l). REAR. 

